“I have only one judge – myself - & I acquit myself.”
Jean-Paul Sartre
We all have stories. We all have problems. We all have had bad experiences. However, not everyone wants people to sympathize with him/her. I believe we encounter tough times for a reason…so that we become better & strong individuals. I think we don’t need courage to die; we need courage to live.
Anyway, there is no such thing on this planet as an absolutely right view point. If a person analyses anything from all the possible angles with honesty, it is quite a task to arrive at a single conclusion. Moreover, our background & experiences are accountable to a greater extent in shaping & forming our opinions.
In Moll Flanders, the protagonist said:
“In the next place, when a woman is thus left desolate & void of counsel, she is just like a bag of money or a jewel dropped on the highway, which is a prey to the next comer; if a man of virtue & upright principles happens to find it, he will have it cried, & the owner may come to hear of it again; but how many times shall such a thing fall into hands that will make no scruple of seizing it for their own, to once that it shall come into good hands?”
Daniel Defoe
Actually this passage has nothing to do with what I have in my mind, but it triggered me to think. Owing to discrimination & how problems are being depicted, it’s difficult to say whose problem is the biggest. However, problems are problems…they could be insurmountable & may not have any solution. I think men, women, old people, children, eunuchs, sluts, animals – they all have genuine problems.
Work place harassment is nothing new. In fact, harassment of any kind is not new. And I don’t know if at this point, I should say that people ought to understand. They say education could make a difference. I don’t know. I have seen innumerable educated jahils (illiterates). They say education could bring about a revolution. My question is: how is it possible? Education in our part of the world does not guarantee change of mental outlook towards life.
When I was in the university, we used to hear about cases of harassment. Teachers blackmailing students, cause grades were in their hands. Almost every department had one such exotic (read corrupt) piece.
During the 2nd semester, one of our professors was being very, very, kind on me. Naturally you get to know when things aren’t right. Although he never hurt me in any way, besides showing interest, but he stopped teaching us in the classroom & started talking about irrelevant stuff. I told my friends & thanks to them, the entire class knew it. Students were pissed off as he was a good teacher & he wasn’t teaching but babbling shit.
As usual students were discussing & a day came when one of my seniors called me & said that the teacher has gone off his head…he can’t concentrate, & they all think the right step is that I must leave the university. And she even asked me if it was a case of sexual harassment. I was quite pissed off. The next day, I went to the Chairman & narrated the entire story. This was a story in which students played an active role by discussing & presuming & wondering if it was something sexual. Yeah I know it’s my hard luck. I always get attention from the wrong kind of people. And no I didn’t have any fun whatsoever. As if people enjoy getting unwanted attention!
Anyway, I said to the Chairman that if anybody ought to leave the university, it should be the teacher, not me. And I even suggested that there is no need to teach students Tess of the D’urbervilles, as it doesn’t make much of a difference on their brain cells. They are the ones who love to ask juicy questions; they are the ones who can’t help giving new dimension to a problem; they are the ones who said I was being favoured & I got good marks that I didn’t deserve. Although it didn’t occur to those nitwits that I used to get good marks in all the subjects. And other teachers were not crazy after me.
I was lucky in the sense that the Chairman & another female teacher supported me. That professor was warned. It wasn’t easy for me to face the problem at that time though. I wanted moral support & I didn’t get any from my friends & best people. However, I got that support & protection from 2 teachers. One of them is dead & it's a great loss. He said to me that it’s our duty to inform about such incidents & he was thankful for that as no one ever had the courage to report about that teacher’s colourful nature.
My story is nevertheless not that scary or creepy, but there was pressure on me all along & I haven’t forgotten that. The point I want to highlight is that people around you make sure you have no peace; people around you make sure that you know what others are talking about you; people around you invent baseless stories; people around you know what you should do with your life & if accidentally you ask them what do they plan to do themselves…they might not have any answer, cause they are busy thinking as to what steps others should take. No wonder we haven’t stepped in the 21st century. It’s another thing that people are shedding clothes in our country. It’s like they equate nudity with progress. But they don’t know what’s the progress of mind.
“People only do what they want to do - & what they are capable of doing. If they were capable of anything else, there would be something else.”
D. H. Lawrence
Anyhow, I’ve learnt one thing from my bad experiences. When you come across someone nice, make sure you tell that person. Since everyone is not stupid & limited, I really don’t see the point why one must try to outdo others. If you’re satisfied with yourself…That’s more than enough. Do you really need to make an impression? Anyway, when fumes come out of your ears, make sure you share that candy with the one who is responsible for those fumes.
Nadira Rahman
Jean-Paul Sartre
We all have stories. We all have problems. We all have had bad experiences. However, not everyone wants people to sympathize with him/her. I believe we encounter tough times for a reason…so that we become better & strong individuals. I think we don’t need courage to die; we need courage to live.
Anyway, there is no such thing on this planet as an absolutely right view point. If a person analyses anything from all the possible angles with honesty, it is quite a task to arrive at a single conclusion. Moreover, our background & experiences are accountable to a greater extent in shaping & forming our opinions.
In Moll Flanders, the protagonist said:
“In the next place, when a woman is thus left desolate & void of counsel, she is just like a bag of money or a jewel dropped on the highway, which is a prey to the next comer; if a man of virtue & upright principles happens to find it, he will have it cried, & the owner may come to hear of it again; but how many times shall such a thing fall into hands that will make no scruple of seizing it for their own, to once that it shall come into good hands?”
Daniel Defoe
Actually this passage has nothing to do with what I have in my mind, but it triggered me to think. Owing to discrimination & how problems are being depicted, it’s difficult to say whose problem is the biggest. However, problems are problems…they could be insurmountable & may not have any solution. I think men, women, old people, children, eunuchs, sluts, animals – they all have genuine problems.
Work place harassment is nothing new. In fact, harassment of any kind is not new. And I don’t know if at this point, I should say that people ought to understand. They say education could make a difference. I don’t know. I have seen innumerable educated jahils (illiterates). They say education could bring about a revolution. My question is: how is it possible? Education in our part of the world does not guarantee change of mental outlook towards life.
When I was in the university, we used to hear about cases of harassment. Teachers blackmailing students, cause grades were in their hands. Almost every department had one such exotic (read corrupt) piece.
During the 2nd semester, one of our professors was being very, very, kind on me. Naturally you get to know when things aren’t right. Although he never hurt me in any way, besides showing interest, but he stopped teaching us in the classroom & started talking about irrelevant stuff. I told my friends & thanks to them, the entire class knew it. Students were pissed off as he was a good teacher & he wasn’t teaching but babbling shit.
As usual students were discussing & a day came when one of my seniors called me & said that the teacher has gone off his head…he can’t concentrate, & they all think the right step is that I must leave the university. And she even asked me if it was a case of sexual harassment. I was quite pissed off. The next day, I went to the Chairman & narrated the entire story. This was a story in which students played an active role by discussing & presuming & wondering if it was something sexual. Yeah I know it’s my hard luck. I always get attention from the wrong kind of people. And no I didn’t have any fun whatsoever. As if people enjoy getting unwanted attention!
Anyway, I said to the Chairman that if anybody ought to leave the university, it should be the teacher, not me. And I even suggested that there is no need to teach students Tess of the D’urbervilles, as it doesn’t make much of a difference on their brain cells. They are the ones who love to ask juicy questions; they are the ones who can’t help giving new dimension to a problem; they are the ones who said I was being favoured & I got good marks that I didn’t deserve. Although it didn’t occur to those nitwits that I used to get good marks in all the subjects. And other teachers were not crazy after me.
I was lucky in the sense that the Chairman & another female teacher supported me. That professor was warned. It wasn’t easy for me to face the problem at that time though. I wanted moral support & I didn’t get any from my friends & best people. However, I got that support & protection from 2 teachers. One of them is dead & it's a great loss. He said to me that it’s our duty to inform about such incidents & he was thankful for that as no one ever had the courage to report about that teacher’s colourful nature.
My story is nevertheless not that scary or creepy, but there was pressure on me all along & I haven’t forgotten that. The point I want to highlight is that people around you make sure you have no peace; people around you make sure that you know what others are talking about you; people around you invent baseless stories; people around you know what you should do with your life & if accidentally you ask them what do they plan to do themselves…they might not have any answer, cause they are busy thinking as to what steps others should take. No wonder we haven’t stepped in the 21st century. It’s another thing that people are shedding clothes in our country. It’s like they equate nudity with progress. But they don’t know what’s the progress of mind.
“People only do what they want to do - & what they are capable of doing. If they were capable of anything else, there would be something else.”
D. H. Lawrence
Anyhow, I’ve learnt one thing from my bad experiences. When you come across someone nice, make sure you tell that person. Since everyone is not stupid & limited, I really don’t see the point why one must try to outdo others. If you’re satisfied with yourself…That’s more than enough. Do you really need to make an impression? Anyway, when fumes come out of your ears, make sure you share that candy with the one who is responsible for those fumes.
Nadira Rahman
